


revising impressions

by fannishcodex



Category: Transformers - All Media Types, Transformers: Prime, Transformers: Shattered Glass
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-12-25
Updated: 2013-12-25
Packaged: 2018-01-06 03:44:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,671
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1102006
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fannishcodex/pseuds/fannishcodex
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>TFP Shattered Glass Mirrorverse AU. Getting used to the Nemesis crew.</p>
            </blockquote>





	revising impressions

**Author's Note:**

> For the wish, 'Shattered glass stuff ;3' at tf_prime livejournal community's Winter Wishlist. Hope you enjoy, and feedback is always appreciated.

Acclimating to being part of a crew again was, to say the least, an educational experience for Airachnid. Every day seemed to offer something new to observe and digest.  
  
For instance, once while on deck with the commanding crew, she'd been distracted from her task by Starscream and Soundwave crowding together over a console.  
  
This she noted as new information on the crew, for Soundwave--save for Laserbeak--had seemed rather solitary, and the complete opposite of Starscream's chatter and undisciplined energy. But she knew familiarity and closeness when she saw it, and there it was in the way the two leaned toward each other.  
  
And then she heard a strange noise, and a flicker of bright color in between Starscream's and Soundwave's helms.  
  
Airachnid couldn't resist. "What are you two doing?"  
  
As if to demonstrate her impression of them as opposites, Starscream visibly jumped, startled, while Soundwave merely looked back at her with a composed tilt of his head.  
  
The triplechanger was rather amused by the embarrassment flashing on the seeker's face. Airachnid still wasn't entirely sure what to make of Megatron's so-called second-in-command; she could tell he was well-meaning, but she still wasn't sure how fit he was for the job. (Though that always came with the thought that she would not care to have such a position.)  
  
"Ah, assisting Soundwave in his duties," Starscream began explaining. "Decepticon policy on this planet asks for covertness when among the native population, but sometimes we--"  
  
And just as quickly Starscream broke from his composure to shoot a glare over his shoulder at the Decepticon medic working on his data pad.  
  
"-- _Knock Out_ \--" The seeker cited his example with a slight growl to his voice.  
  
The medic's only response was to take one claw away from his data pad and lift it into a rude gesture. "Frag you," he carelessly said, and Knock Out's eyes never left the data pad.  
  
Breakdown was seated at a console by his partner, and didn't seem to mind that the smaller bot was leaning against him. Airachnid hadn't seen him react to anything less than his work until that remark, and a small grin tugged at his face.  
  
"--are caught," Starscream finished after snapping back just as quickly to the more composed, explanatory mode and turning his back on Knock Out again. For a second, Airachnid wondered if the seeker ever tired over those rapid shifts in expression, but then she remembered observing how unbridled energy seemed to run constantly through him, and thought better of it. The younger bot was simply mercurial.  
  
Starscream continued. "Any images published on the humans' telecommunications network, their 'Internet'--"  
  
And Soundwave moved from the console so she could see a human photograph of Knock Out racing.  
  
"--are scrubbed and replaced with something innocuous," Starscream said, and Soundwave tapped a claw, and immediately that strange noise occurred again, signaling the abrupt image change to some brown creature's dance.  
  
Starscream laughed (as did Knock Out, though he soon stopped, quickly turning back to his data pad and ignoring Breakdown's smirk). Airachnid refused to startle as the young seeker had, though she was surprised. She had not heard him laugh before. (The medic, yes--the triplechanger had seen him share a laugh with Breakdown or when teasing Starscream.)  
  
The seeker perked up, as if something had occurred to him. His eyes darted to Megatron, and he turned to him. The Decepticon leader was at his own console, overlooking various maps of Earth and its surrounding planets and moons.  
  
"Ah, Lord Megatron, would you like to take a break and see something amusing?"  
  
"No," Megatron said without turning away from his screen, his voice in its usual gruff tone, but with an edge of slight bafflement to it, as if wondering why he'd received such a bizarre question.  
  
Starscream seemed to deflate slightly, shooting Megatron a concerned look before turning back to his and Soundwave's console.  
  
( _Interlude_ : Airachnid missed this; Soundwave clicking a button, and transmitting the dancing image to Megatron's console. It was just a small little pop-up window, small enough that with Megatron's proximity to the screen, only he would see it. He did not move, save for slightly lifting one corner of his mouth. Then he exited the window, and resumed his work.)  
  
"Anyway," Starscream said, straightening up and catching Airachnid's eyes again, back to an explanatory mood apparently. "That was a 'GIF'--er, an _animated_ GIF, there's the GIF that is a file format for a static image--anyway, the animated GIF is a part of human culture, and it works well for covering up our existence." Airachnid actually thought Starscream would stop there, but he continued, while Soundwave replaced more photos of Knock Out. "It seems to be a relatively innocuous part of human culture, serving as one of the forms of communication on their Internet network--"  
  
Airachnid felt some amusement at Starscream going off on a tangent and the way his eyes lit up, and the way Knock Out looked bored and weary, as if he'd heard it all before (and probably had).  
  
"--and more reliant on visual literacy than the written kind, though many of them combine word and text, they're not all like the dancing monkey, that's essentially a pure visual--"  
  
Airachnid allowed herself to grin a little at Starscream's persistent, enthused rambling, and a derisive Knock Out snapping one claw open and shut in time with the seeker's rapid fire speech, miming his babbling mouth.  
  
"--and auditory, I haven't seen many GIFs that employ audio too--"  
  
An emergency alarm blared, and Airachnid found what had been a casual chaos on the bridge immediately shifted. Somewhat.  
  
"Ohthankprimus, a mission," Knock Out said with exaggerated relief, dropping his miming claw and putting the data pad away. Starscream didn't seem to notice, instead immediately going to Megatron's side with Soundwave. Knock Out and Breakdown followed, as did Airachnid. She heard the door hiss open, and found a few Troopers streaming in.  
  
Megatron wasted no time in debriefing: an emergency at a mine, Autobots attempting to infiltrate. And then he and the other officers were through a groundbridge, after giving the Troopers the task of staying behind as mission control. They were not bridged immediately into battle, planning to essentially sneak up on the invading Bots. And so it was a quiet creeping march through stone, with Megatron at the head. Questions Airachnid had over this crew's familiarity versus the current mission had some answers as Knock Out quietly drew Starscream into conversation.  
  
"You should talk the enemy into surrender, Screamer, not Airachnid," he said with a far too wide grin, while Starscream looked flustered and incensed.  
  
"I would like to hear you finish, Starscream--once the mission's over," Airachnid said, her voice light. Starscream's eyes widened for a moment, before immediately turning an insufferable smirk on Knock Out, who looked utterly aghast.  
  
"Are you serious?" Knock Out said, voice flat and yet still carrying the right amount of horror.  
  
Everyone continued to walk while this conversation went on, and Airachnid kept up.  
  
"It may be old to you, but it's news to me," the triplechanger replied with a shrug.  
  
Rolling his eyes, Knock Out insisted, "It's not about _that_ , it's about being succinct--"  
  
Just as quickly as it happened, Starscream's smug pride switched to indignation. "What was I supposed to say--?"  
  
 _"'That was a 'GIF'--'"_   Soundwave played back Starscream's voice, and there was a notable crackling pause. _"'--a part of human culture, and it works well for covering up our existence.'"_  
  
Knock Out pointed to Soundwave. "Succinct."  
  
Starscream glowered at the pair of them, until Breakdown laughed. (Airachnid glanced at Megatron, wondering if he'd join in the conversation too. But he remained silent and in the lead, with his back to them.)  
  
"What?" Knock Out said, staring at his partner, never missing a step in the cave.  
  
"Pot calling the kettle black there," Breakdown said with a smirk.  
  
Airachnid arched a brow. "Now what’s this? Another facet of human culture?"  
  
Starscream opened his mouth, which Soundwave immediately covered with his claw. Knock Out's grin was immediate, and Starscream looked fit to shoot lasers out of his eyes if he'd had such rare equipment.  
  
"Yeah, it's a human phrase," Breakdown said. "It's for when a person accuses another of doing something, even if that person is doing the exact same thing. Like, Starscream and Knock Out are both..."  
  
Now Knock Out was glaring at Breakdown, and Airachnid raised a claw to cover up her chuckle.  
  
"...wordy," Breakdown finished, still smirking at his partner.  
  
On their intenrnal commlink, Megatron informed them all they should be in position shortly (Airachnid noted how there was no reproach in his message, simply business.) Their little squadron grew quieter and began to diverge as planned; Airachnid, Breakdown, and Knock Out on one side, while Starscream, Soundwave, and Megatron took the other.  
  
At Megatron's signal, they struck.  
  
###  
  
"...and this sort of GIF is an animation, and the one you saw earlier also employed the sort of stylized, anthropomorphized character that could be categorized as a 'cartoon' in human terms, but it's not exactly like--I suppose it's a _form_ of animation and the cartoon, but not the whole medium, animation can be far longer and more elaborate than a GIF--"  
  
"Herr Kommandant, you and Airachnid should be resting," Knock Out said in a far too sweet voice with the right amount of bite as he updated patient information on his data pad.  
  
"Talking doesn't take up much energy," Starscream replied from his place on the berth.  
  
"Nor does listening," Airachnid added.  
  
Knock Out declared that he gave up, there was no cure for their idiocy, and presently Starscream kept talking with Airachnid about the intricacies of human animation. Only when Knock Out started playing the oldest feature animated film in human history (Lotte Reiniger's "The Adventures of Prince Achmed," and privately Knock Out thought its use of something as tactile as paper sculpture was very exotic and so very alien), did Starscream finally settle down.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed! Feedback is always appreciated. Lotte Reiniger's "The Adventures of Prince Achmed" really is essentially the oldest feature animated film in history, predating Walt Disney's Snow White (which is more accurately the first Hollywood animated feature film). This can be confirmed at IMDB, along with more information on the film.


End file.
